Surplus Food – What’s the first thought that comes to mind? Leftovers? I get it a lot when I mention this term to my family and friends who are curious about what Just Dabao does. But there’s more to surplus food than just being “leftovers”.
Let’s start by defining what “surplus” is. Surplus = Excess. In simple economic terms, food surplus occurs when the supply of food exceeds the demand for it.
Did you know that one-third of all food produced for human consumption in the world is lost or wasted? According to the World Food Programme, these foods would be sufficient to feed 2 billion people — which is more than twice the number of undernourished people facing food insecurity across the globe. You can read more about Food Security here.
Surplus food exists due to various reasons. Such reasons include Unsold Food, Inventory Problems, Cancelled Orders, Cosmetic Defects, and even items under R&D! You might have already seen this from our Instagram post a while back. But today, let us take a closer look at these reasons and provide a clearer picture of why surplus food isn’t just a fancier term for “leftovers”.
1. Unsold Food
The common food items in this category are bakery items and salads. The bread we get at bakeries is usually freshly baked daily and has a very short shelf life as they are free from the preservatives that are otherwise found in factory-produced bakes. Salads, on the other hand, can only be safely left out at room temperature for about two hours. As such, it is a real pity when fresh food products are being tossed into the bin simply because they are not being sold in the short period they were on display. So save these delicious bakes from our bakeries and healthy salads at just a fraction of their usual price before they go wrongfully in the bin. Perhaps try ordering your next birthday cake from us?
2. Cancelled Orders
One of the biggest nightmares a food supplier can deal with after preparing copious amounts of food for an event is having the event cancelled at the very last minute. It can be heartbreaking to discard all these perfectly edible foods after all the effort and time put into the food preparation. Let’s look at a real-life case study that unfortunately occurred to one of our merchants — a catering company specialising in waffles and ice cream live stations. They were dropped from a huge live sale at the last minute and ended up with almost 100 pints of ice cream without enough refrigeration space. Fortunately for them, all hope was not lost as they leveraged Just Dabao’s platform to clear off a sizeable amount of these pints of ice cream within a few days. Phew!
3. Cosmetic Defects
Photo credit: Cassia Canelés
Have you heard of cosmetic filtering? It’s the food industry’s version of Tinder, where perfectly edible food is being discarded simply because they seem aesthetically unappealing. You might have heard of Uglyfood before, where they operate in the fruits and vegetable space by selling these perfectly edible “ugly” produce that would otherwise be left on the shelf because most consumers would naturally avoid picking them. Sometimes, this filtering is done on the merchant’s end when such F&B Businesses maintain strict quality control standards. This ensures that consistency and perfection are delivered to every customer without compromise. If you’ve been following us on Instagram @just.dabao, you might have seen our IG reel on Creamier’s Ugly Waffles, which still looks pretty amazing despite their minor defects.
4. Excess Inventory
Photo adapted from XinHua News, China
Many perishable goods may have strict storage requirements, such as storing them at a specific temperature or having to ensure cross-contamination doesn’t occur. Sometimes, logistical problems with one’s supplies such as these might arise due to miscommunication, lack of proper planning or unforeseen circumstances. It may be too late when a merchant realises that they do not have adequate storage or space available to store their ingredients or food supplies; hence letting them go on Just Dabao might be the best solution.
5. R&D Items
Don’t we all love it when we see new items being launched on the menus of our favourite stores? However, we don’t know all that goes on behind the process. During the various stages of research and development (R&D), many resources are often wasted due to the experimental nature of creating innovative dishes. However, some of our merchants leverage Just Dabao to sell off these excess food. For example, Cassia Canalés, a home-based bakery always looking to experiment with new flavours, generates a fair bit of surplus from their classic French pastries. So who knows, the next time you purchase one of these R&D products on Just Dabao, you could be in for a surprise and be one of the first in Singapore to try these upcoming menu items!
Now that you’ve understood what surplus food entails, it’s your turn to share this knowledge confidently and address the fallacy! The assurance that surplus food is safe for consumption is vital in our fight to reduce food waste — a step towards our vision of remodelling Sustainability as people’s first choice without compromising one’s lifestyle. So the next time someone expresses their qualms about surplus food, do your part to debunk the myth by simply directing them to this article! Let’s encourage those around us to do our part for a more sustainable nation and, in the process, get to enjoy delicious food at prices lower than ever! (psst…jio that friend who’s always looking for cheap food deals)
